Target transport apparatus and liquid ejecting apparatus

ABSTRACT

A target transport apparatus includes a transport roller pair that has a plurality of segmented roller members disposed at intervals in a width direction that intersects with a transport direction of continuous paper and that imparts a transport force on the continuous paper by the segmented roller members pinching the continuous paper; and an image capturing unit, disposed in a location that corresponds to a pinched area in the width direction of the continuous paper that is pinched by the segmented roller members and to the pinched area along the transport direction, that detects, without making contact with the continuous paper, an amount by which the continuous paper is transported by the transport roller pair.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.13/681,457, filed Nov. 20, 2012, entitled “Target Transport Apparatusand Liquid Ejecting Apparatus,” which claims priority to JP ApplicationNo. 2011-255860, filed Nov. 24, 2011, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to target transport apparatuses thattransport a target and liquid ejecting apparatuses provided with suchtarget transport apparatuses.

2. Related Art

Thus far, ink jet printers that form images by ejecting a liquid from aliquid ejecting head onto a target have been known as one type of liquidejecting apparatus. For example, with the printer disclosed inJP-A-2005-271293, a transport roller pair that imparts a transport forceon paper (a target) while pinching that paper is provided in a transportpath of the paper. This transport roller pair is configured of atransport driving roller and a transport slave roller, and byconfiguring the transport slave roller of a plurality of segmentedroller members disposed at intervals in the width direction of thepaper, the paper that is fed out from the transport roller pair issuppressed from meandering in the width direction.

In addition, in recent years, printers provided with sensors formonitoring amounts by which a target is transported by such a transportroller pair are being proposed. For example, in the printer disclosed inJP-A-2007-217176, an image capturing device that continuously capturesan image of the surface of recording paper (a target) is provided assuch a sensor. According to this printer, an amount by which therecording paper, on which a transport force is imparted by being pinchedbetween a transport driving roller and a transport slave roller, ismoved is detected based on the amount of movement of a specific imagepattern that follows the relief of the surface of the recording papercontained in an image obtained from the image capturing device.

Incidentally, according to the printer disclosed in JP-A-2007-217176,the transport slave roller is configured as a plurality of segmentedroller members disposed at intervals in the width direction of therecording paper in order to suppress the recording paper from meanderingin the width direction. In this case, because the areas of the recordingpaper corresponding to the spaces between adjacent segmented rollermembers in the width direction are not pinched between the transportdriving roller and the transport slave roller, if the recording paperabsorbs ink (a liquid) ejected from a recording head (a liquid ejectinghead) and wets and swells as a result, the recording paper will deformlocally. The distance between the image capturing device and therecording paper will thus change; as a result, the image capturingdevice cannot clearly capture the relief on the surface of the recordingpaper, leading to a risk that the amount by which the recording paper istransported cannot be accurately detected.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a targettransport apparatus and a liquid ejecting apparatus capable ofaccurately detecting an amount by which a target is transported whilesuppressing the target from meandering.

A target transport apparatus according to an aspect of the inventionincludes: a transport unit that has a plurality of pinching portionsdisposed at intervals in a width direction that intersects with atransport direction of a target and that imparts a transport force onthe target by the pinching portion pinching the target; and a transportamount detection unit, disposed in a location that corresponds to apinched area in the width direction of the target that is pinched by thepinching portion and to the pinched area along the transport direction,that detects, without making contact with the target, an amount by whichthe target is transported by the transport unit.

According to this configuration, even if warping has occurred in thewidth direction of the target when the transport force is imparted onthe target by the transport unit, the pinched area of the target in thewidth direction thereof, and a regional area of the target thatcorresponds to the pinched area along the transport direction of thetarget, experience almost no deformation. For this reason, the distancebetween the transport amount detection unit, which takes that regionalarea as a detection target, and the target undergoes almost no change.Accordingly, the amount by which the target is transported can beaccurately detected by the transport amount detection unit that isdisposed at the pinched area of the target and through which theregional area that corresponds thereto along the transport directionpasses, while the target is suppressed from meandering in the widthdirection by the plurality of pinching portions that are disposed atintervals in the width direction of the target.

According to another aspect of the invention, in the target transportapparatus, it is preferable that the transport amount detection unit bedisposed downstream from the transport unit in the transport directionof the target.

According to this configuration, of the target that is transported bythe transport unit, the transport amount detection unit takes, as atarget of detection, the pinched area that is pinched by the pinchingportion in the width direction of the target and the regional area thatcorresponds to the pinched area along the transport direction.Accordingly, the distance between the target transported by thetransport unit and the transport amount detection unit undergoes almostno change, and thus the transport amount detection unit can accuratelydetect the amount by which the target is transported.

According to another aspect of the invention, it is preferable that thetarget transport apparatus further include a support member thatsupports the target transported by the transport unit, and the transportamount detection unit detect the amount by which the target istransported from the surface of the target that is supported by thesupport member.

According to this configuration, the distance between the target and thetransport amount detection unit does not change even if the thickness ofthe target supported by the support member changes. Accordingly, theamount by which the target is transported can be accurately detectedwithout being influenced by the thickness of the target.

According to another aspect of the invention, in the target transportapparatus, it is preferable that the transport amount detection unit bedisposed in a location that corresponds to the center of the pinchedarea in the width direction of the target and to the center of thepinched area along the transport direction.

According to this configuration, even if warping has occurred in thewidth direction of the target when the transport force is imparted onthe target by the transport unit, the area of the target in the centerof the pinched area that is pinched by the pinching portions in thewidth direction thereof, and the regional area of the target thatcorresponds to the stated center along the transport direction of thetarget, are particularly suppressed from deforming with certainty.Accordingly, by suppressing changes in the distance between thetransport amount detection unit, which takes that regional area as adetection target, and the target with more certainty, the amount bywhich the target is transported can be more accurately detected by thetransport amount detection unit.

According to another aspect of the invention, it is preferable that aliquid ejecting apparatus include a liquid ejecting head that ejects aliquid onto a target and a target transport apparatus having theaforementioned configuration.

According to this configuration, the same effects as those of theaforementioned target transport apparatus can be achieved.

According to another aspect of the invention, in the liquid ejectingapparatus, it is preferable that the liquid ejecting head be provideddownstream from the transport unit in the transport direction of thetarget, and eject a liquid onto the target that is pinched by thetransport unit.

According to this configuration, even if the target has absorbed liquidejected from the liquid ejecting head and has expanded as a result, thepinched area of the target in the width direction thereof that ispinched by the pinching portions, and the regional area that correspondsto the pinched area along the transport direction, experience almost nodeformation. Accordingly, the distance between the transport amountdetection unit, which takes that regional area as a detection target,and the target undergoes almost no change, and thus the amount by whichthe target is transported can be more accurately detected by thetransport amount detection unit.

According to another aspect of the invention, it is preferable that theliquid ejecting apparatus further include a heating unit that heats andfixes the liquid ejected onto the target from the liquid ejecting head.

According to this configuration, even if the target has been heated bythe heating unit and has expanded as a result, the pinched area of thetarget in the width direction thereof that is pinched by the pinchingportions, and the regional area that corresponds to the pinched areaalong the transport direction, experience almost no deformation.Accordingly, the distance between the transport amount detection unit,which takes that regional area as a detection target, and the targetundergoes almost no change, and thus the amount by which the target istransported can be more accurately detected by the transport amountdetection unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printer according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a recording unit.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an image capturing unit.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the recording unit in a statewhere warped areas are formed in continuous paper, where FIG. 4A is aplan view and FIG. 4B is a front view seen from the downstream side inthe transport direction of the continuous paper.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of an ink jet printer, serving as atype of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the invention, will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 through 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 11 includes a feeding unit 13 that feedsout continuous paper S serving as an oblong target, a recording unit 14that executes a recording process by ejecting ink (a liquid) on thecontinuous paper S that has been fed out, and a take-up unit 15 thattakes up the continuous paper S on which the recording process has beenexecuted by the recording unit 14.

In other words, the feeding unit 13 is disposed in a position that istoward the rear of the continuous paper S, which corresponds to theupstream side of the transport direction, and the take-up unit 15 isdisposed in a position that is toward the front, which corresponds tothe downstream side. The recording unit 14 is disposed in a positionpartway along the transport path, between the feeding unit 13 and thetake-up unit 15.

A winding shaft 16 that extends in the left-right direction (thedirection orthogonal to the paper surface) is provided, in a rotatablestate, in the feeding unit 13. The continuous paper S is wound into aroll shape in advance and supported on the winding shaft 16, so as to becapable of rotating with the winding shaft 16. In other words, thecontinuous paper S is fed out from the winding shaft 16 as a result ofthe winding shaft 16 rotating, and is transported downstream in thetransport direction.

Meanwhile, a first intermediate roller 17 upon which the continuouspaper S that has been fed out from the winding shaft 16 is wrapped uponand that guides the continuous paper S to the recording unit 14 isprovided above and slightly forward from the winding shaft 16, extendingin the left-right direction and capable of rotation. When the continuouspaper S that has been fed out from the winding shaft 16 is wrapped uponthe first intermediate roller 17 from the lower-rear, the transportdirection of the continuous paper S is converted to the horizontaldirection.

Meanwhile, a transport roller pair 18, serving as a transport unit, isprovided in a position that is downstream from the first intermediateroller 17 in the transport direction of the continuous paper S, and isthus forward from the first intermediate roller 17. The transport rollerpair 18 is configured of a driving roller 19 and a slave roller 20. Asshown in FIG. 2, the driving roller 19 extends across the entirety ofthe width direction of the continuous paper S. On the other hand, theslave roller 20 extends parallel to the driving roller 19 in theleft-right direction that corresponds to the width direction of thecontinuous paper S, but is configured of a plurality (in thisembodiment, five) segmented roller members 21 that are disposed atintervals in the left-right direction and that serve as pinchingportions. Note that the segmented roller members 21 are disposed atequal intervals in the left-right direction that corresponds to thewidth direction of the continuous paper S. A transport force that movesthe continuous paper S toward the recording unit 14 is imparted on thecontinuous paper S by the segmented roller members 21 undergoing slaverotation in response to driving rotation of the driving roller 19 whilethe continuous paper S is pinched between the driving roller 19 and thesegmented roller members 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, a support platform 22 that serves as a supportmember capable of supporting the continuous paper S is provided in therecording unit 14. The support platform 22 is configured of a main bodyunit 23 formed in an open-ended, approximately box shape whose upperside is open, and a support plate 24, having a rectangular plate shape,that closes the opening in the upper side of the main body unit 23.Multiple suction holes 25 that pass through the support plate 24 in thethickness direction, or from top to bottom, thereof are formed in thesupport plate 24. In addition, an opening portion 26 is provided in thecenter of the bottom surface of the main body unit 23, and a suction fan27 is provided so as to cover the opening portion 26. In addition, aheater 28 that serves as a heating unit and that has a rectangular plateshape that corresponds to the support plate 24 when viewed from above isprovided within the main body unit 23. The heater 28 makes contact withthe support plate 24 from the rear surface side (the bottom side) of asupport surface 24 a. The heater 28 emits heat when a current issupplied from a power source (not shown), and heats the entire supportsurface 24 a of the support plate 24 in an essentially uniform manner.Accordingly, the heat from the heater 28 is transmitted to thecontinuous paper S via the support plate 24.

In addition, through-holes 29 that pass through the heater 28 from topto bottom are formed in locations of the heater 28 that correspond tothe suction holes 25 of the support plate 24. When the suction fan 27 isdriven, the interior of the main body unit 23 is sucked via the openingportion 26, and a negative pressure is produced within the through-holes29 and the suction holes 25; due to this negative pressure beingproduced, the continuous paper S is sucked onto the support surface 24 aof the support plate 24. Note that an image capturing unit 30, servingas a transport amount detection unit for non-contact detection of anamount by which the continuous paper S is transported, is embedded inthe support surface 24 a of the support plate 24. In other words, theimage capturing unit 30 is disposed downstream from the transport rollerpair 18 in the transport direction of the continuous paper S.

Meanwhile, a line-head type recording head 31 that serves as a liquidejecting head is provided in a location of the recording unit 14 thatcorresponds to the support platform 22. The bottom surface of therecording head 31 serves as a nozzle formation surface in which aplurality of nozzles (not shown) that eject ink are provided. Therecording head 31 extends in the horizontal direction and in a directionorthogonal to the transport direction of the continuous paper S, and hasa length in the lengthwise direction that corresponds to the maximumpaper width of the continuous paper S. The recording head 31 executes arecording process by ejecting ink onto the continuous paper S that ispinched and transported by the transport roller pair 18.

In addition, a second intermediate roller 32 that opposes the firstintermediate roller 17 with the support platform 22 located therebetweenis provided on the front side of the support platform 22 so as to extendparallel to the first intermediate roller 17. The first intermediateroller 17 and the second intermediate roller 32 are positioned so thatthe apex areas of the circumferential surfaces of those respectiverollers are at the same height as the support surface 24 a of thesupport plate 24. Accordingly, the continuous paper S is transportedtoward the front, which corresponds to the downstream direction, whilesliding along the support surface 24 a of the support plate 24. Then,the continuous paper S is wrapped upon the second intermediate roller 32from the upper-front; this converts the transport direction of thecontinuous paper S from the horizontal direction to a lower-front angledirection, after which the continuous paper S is transported to thetake-up unit 15.

A take-up shaft 33 that is capable of rotational driving is provided inthe take-up unit 15, in a lower-front angle direction of the secondintermediate roller 32. The leading end of the continuous paper S, whichcorresponds to the downstream end in the transport direction, is takenup by the take-up shaft 33 as a result of the rotational driving of thetake-up shaft 33.

Next, the image capturing unit 30 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, a case 40 that configures an outer housing of theimage capturing unit 30 has a light-transmissive glass 41 attached to aleading end portion (upper end portion) of the case 40, the leading endportion being formed in a shape of a cylinder with a circular truncatedcone thereon. The image capturing unit 30 is then mounted in the supportplatform 22, with the light-transmissive glass 41 being embedded in ahole 24 b formed in the support surface 24 a of the support plate 24.Note that because the upper surface of the light-transmissive glass 41is positioned lower than the support surface 24 a of the support plate24, the light-transmissive glass 41 does not make contact with thecontinuous paper S located upon the support surface 24 a of the supportplate 24.

A light emitting unit 42 configured of, for example, a light-emittingdiode (LED) is provided within the case 40. This light emitting unit 42is fixed to an inner wall surface of the case 40 at an angledorientation that enables light to be emitted toward thelight-transmissive glass 41. In addition, a focusing lens 43 is providedin the case 40, the focusing lens 43 focusing light that has beenemitted from the light emitting unit 42, passed through thelight-transmissive glass 41, reflected off the rear surface of thecontinuous paper S, passed through the light-transmissive glass 41again, and entered into the case 40. Furthermore, an image sensor 44having an imaging surface 44 a on which is formed an image of the rearsurface of the continuous paper S onto which light has been focused bythe focusing lens 43 is provided within the case 40. The image sensor 44is configured of, for example, a two-dimensional image sensor. Note thatthe focusing lens 43 is held, by a holding member 45, at a height atwhich an image of the rear surface of the continuous paper S can beformed on the imaging surface 44 a of the image sensor 44. The imagecapturing unit 30 then captures an image of the texture (a paperpattern) of the continuous paper S on the surface of the side of thecontinuous paper S that is supported by the support plate 24 and, bycomparing two images captured in sequence during a set time interval,calculates an amount by which the continuous paper S is transported perunit of time.

Note that as shown in FIG. 2, the light-transmissive glass 41 isdisposed in a location of the support surface 24 a of the support plate24 that is in the center thereof in the width direction of thecontinuous paper S. The light-transmissive glass 41 is disposed in alocation that corresponds, in the transport direction of the continuouspaper S, to the segmented roller member 21 that, of the segmented rollermembers 21 that configure the slave roller 20, is located in the center.To be more specific, the light-transmissive glass 41 is disposed in alocation that corresponds, in the transport direction of the continuouspaper S, to a central area of the segmented roller member 21 in the axisline direction thereof. In other words, the light-transmissive glass 41is disposed at a central area of the continuous paper S, in the widthdirection thereof, of a pinched area that is pinched by the segmentedroller member 21, and in an area that corresponds to that area along thetransport direction of the continuous paper S.

Next, operations of the printer 11 configured in this manner will bedescribed, paying particular attention to the operations carried outwhen the image capturing unit 30 detects the amount by which thecontinuous paper S is transported.

When ink is ejected from the recording head 31 onto the continuous paperS that is positioned upon the support surface 24 a of the support plate24, the continuous paper S absorbs the ink, resulting in wetting andswelling therein; as a result, the continuous paper S expands. Inaddition, the continuous paper S that is positioned upon the supportsurface 24 a of the support plate 24 also expands when the heater 28applies heat thereto in order to heat and fix the ink that has beenejected from the recording head 31. In this case, because the continuouspaper S is sucked onto the support surface 24 a of the support plate 24by the suction fan 27, the continuous paper S has difficulty extendingto both sides in the width direction. Accordingly, the continuous paperS tends to deform in the direction that lifts off from the supportsurface 24 a of the support plate 24.

Here, the portions of the continuous paper S in the width directionthereof that are pinched between the driving roller 19 and the slaveroller 20, as well as the portions of the continuous paper S in thetransport direction that correspond to the pinched portions, arerestricted from deforming in the direction that lifts off from thesupport surface 24 a of the support plate 24 due to the expansion of thecontinuous paper S. However, the portions of the continuous paper S inthe width direction thereof that are not pinched between the drivingroller 19 and the slave roller 20, as well as the portions of thecontinuous paper S in the transport direction that correspond to theportions that are not pinched, are allowed to deform in the directionthat lifts off from the support surface 24 a of the support plate 24 dueto the expansion of the continuous paper S. As a result, as shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B, the portions of the continuous paper S that correspond,in the width direction thereof, to the areas between adjacent segmentedroller members 21 warp and deform in the direction that lifts off fromthe support surface 24 a of the support plate 24, and thus warped areas50 that extend in the transport direction of the continuous paper S areformed in the stated areas.

With respect to this point, in this embodiment, the image capturing unit30 is provided so that the light-transmissive glass 41, through whichlight that is incident on the continuous paper S passes, is provided ina location that corresponds to the central area of the segmented rollermembers 21 in the width direction of the continuous paper S.Accordingly, the area of the continuous paper S that is detected by theimage capturing unit 30 experiences almost no deformation, caused by theexpansion of the continuous paper S, in a direction that takes thisdetected area away from the light-transmissive glass 41. As a result,even if the continuous paper S expands, the image capturing unit 30 canmaintain the distance between the continuous paper S and the imagingsurface 44 a of the image sensor 44 in the optical axis direction oflight reflected from the continuous paper S. Accordingly, an image ofthe texture of the continuous paper S can be formed clearly on theimaging surface 44 a of the image sensor 44, and thus the amount bywhich the continuous paper S is transported is detected accurately basedon the amount by which the texture of the continuous paper S has movedas obtained as a result of the imaging performed by the image sensor 44.

According to the embodiment described thus far, the following effectscan be achieved.

1. Even if warping has occurred in the width direction of the continuouspaper S when the transport force is imparted on the continuous paper Sby the transport roller pair 18, the pinched area of the continuouspaper S in the width direction thereof that is pinched by the transportroller pair 18, and a regional area of the continuous paper S thatcorresponds to the pinched area along the transport direction of thecontinuous paper S, experience almost no deformation. For this reason,the distance between the image capturing unit 30, which takes thatregional area as a detection target, and the continuous paper Sundergoes almost no change. Accordingly, the amount by which thecontinuous paper S is transported can be accurately detected by theimage capturing unit 30 that is disposed at the pinched area of thecontinuous paper S that is pinched and at the regional area thatcorresponds thereto along the transport direction, while the transportroller pair 18 suppresses the continuous paper S from meandering in thewidth direction using the plurality of segmented roller members 21 thatare disposed at intervals in the width direction of the continuous paperS.

2. The image capturing unit 30 detects the amount by which thecontinuous paper S is transported from the surface of the side of thecontinuous paper S that is supported by the support plate 24. For thisreason, the distance between the continuous paper S and the imagecapturing unit 30 does not change even if the thickness of thecontinuous paper S supported by the support plate 24 changes.Accordingly, the image capturing unit 30 can accurately detect theamount by which the continuous paper S is transported without beinginfluenced by the thickness of the continuous paper S.

3. Even if warping has occurred in the width direction of the continuouspaper S when the transport force is imparted on the continuous paper Sby the transport roller pair 18, the area of the continuous paper S inthe center of the segmented roller members 21 in the width directionthereof, and the regional area of the continuous paper S thatcorresponds to the stated center along the transport direction of thecontinuous paper S, are particularly suppressed from deforming withcertainty. Accordingly, by suppressing changes in the distance betweenthe image capturing unit 30, which takes that regional area as adetection target, and the continuous paper S with more certainty, theamount by which the continuous paper S is transported can be moreaccurately detected by the image capturing unit 30.

4. Even if the continuous paper S has absorbed ink ejected from therecording head 31 and has expanded as a result, the pinched area of thecontinuous paper S in the width direction thereof that is pinched by thetransport roller pair 18, and the regional area that corresponds to thepinched area along the transport direction, experience almost nodeformation. Accordingly, because the distance between the imagecapturing unit 30, which takes that regional area as a detection target,and the continuous paper S undergoes almost no change, the amount bywhich the continuous paper S is transported can be more accuratelydetected by the image capturing unit 30.

5. Even if the continuous paper S has been heated by the heater 28 andhas expanded as a result, the pinched area of the continuous paper S inthe width direction thereof that is pinched by the transport roller pair18, and the regional area that corresponds to the pinched area along thetransport direction, experience almost no deformation. Accordingly,because the distance between the image capturing unit 30, which takesthat regional area as a detection target, and the continuous paper Sundergoes almost no change, the amount by which the continuous paper Sis transported can be more accurately detected by the image capturingunit 30.

6. The light-transmissive glass 41 is disposed in a location thatcorresponds to the pinched area of the continuous paper S in the widthdirection thereof that is pinched by the transport roller pair 18, andthe regional area that corresponds to the pinched area along thetransport direction. Accordingly, the area of the continuous paper Sthat is positioned immediately above the light-transmissive glass 41experiences almost no deformation in the direction that lifts off fromthe support surface 24 a of the support plate 24, even if the continuouspaper S has expanded. In other words, the top surface of thelight-transmissive glass 41 remains covered from above by the continuouspaper S even if the continuous paper S has expanded. As a result, in thecase where some of the ink ejected from the recording head 31 hasaccumulated above the support surface 24 a of the support plate 24 asink mist, the ink mist can be suppressed from adhering to thelight-transmissive glass 41.

The aforementioned embodiment may be changed to the embodimentsdescribed hereinafter as well.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the heater that heats and fixes theink ejected onto the continuous paper S may be disposed downstream fromthe support platform 22 in the transport direction of the continuouspaper S. In addition, the configuration may be such that the heater thatheats and fixes the ink ejected onto the continuous paper S is omitted.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the area of the continuous paper Sthat is detected by the image capturing unit 30 may be an area that isskewed from the center of the segmented roller members 21 in the widthdirection of the continuous paper S and an area that corresponds theretoalong the transport direction, as long as that area is a pinched area inthe width direction of the continuous paper S that is pinched by thesegmented roller members 21 and an area that corresponds thereto alongthe transport direction.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the image capturing unit 30 may bedisposed in a location that is upstream or downstream from the supportplatform 22 in the transport path of the continuous paper S. Inaddition, the image capturing unit 30 may detect the amount by which thecontinuous paper S is transported from the surface of the side of thecontinuous paper S that is on the opposite side as the side that issupported by the support platform 22.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the image capturing unit 30 may bedisposed upstream from the transport roller pair 18 in the transportpath of the continuous paper S.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the transport amount detection unitthat detects the amount by which the continuous paper S is transportedwithout making contact therewith is not limited to an optical sensor;for example, a sonic sensor that imparts sonic waves on the continuouspaper S and detects the amount by which the continuous paper S istransported (or a transport speed) based on changes in the frequency ofthe sonic waves that are reflected by the continuous paper S may beemployed.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the transport unit that pinches thecontinuous paper S and imparts a transport force thereon is not limitedto a pair of rollers; for example, a configuration including an endlesstransport belt that moves cyclically while supporting the continuouspaper S and a slave roller that undergoes slave rotation while pinchingthe continuous paper S against the transport belt may be employedinstead.

In the stated embodiment, the target is not limited to an elongatedtarget wrapped in roll form, and a single sheet form target may beemployed instead.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the material of the target is notlimited to the paper, and cloth, a resin film, a resin sheet, a metallicsheet, or the like may be employed as well.

In the aforementioned embodiment, a serial-type or lateral-type printermay be employed as the printer 11.

In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied asthe ink jet printer 11, but a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects orexpels another liquid aside from ink may serve as the embodimentinstead. The invention can also be applied in various types of liquidejecting apparatuses including liquid ejecting heads that eject minuteliquid droplets. Note that “droplet” refers to the state of the liquidejected from the liquid ejecting apparatus, and is intended to includegranule forms, teardrop forms, and forms that pull tails in astring-like form therebehind. Furthermore, the “liquid” referred to herecan be any material capable of being ejected by the liquid ejectingapparatus. For example, any matter can be used as long as the matter isin its liquid state, including liquids having high or low viscosity;fluid states such as sol, gel water, other inorganic agents, inorganicagents, liquid solutions, liquid resins, and liquid metals (metallicmelts); furthermore, in addition to liquids as a single state of amatter, liquids in which the molecules of a functional material composedof a solid matter such as pigments, metal particles, or the like aredissolved, dispersed, or mixed in a liquid carrier are included as well.Ink, described in the above embodiment as a representative example of aliquid, liquid crystals, or the like can also be given as examples.Here, “ink” generally includes water-based and oil-based inks, as wellas various types of liquid compositions, including gel inks, hot-meltinks, and so on. The following are specific examples of liquid ejectingapparatuses: liquid ejecting apparatus that eject liquids includingmaterials such as electrode materials, coloring materials, and so on ina dispersed or dissolved state for use in the manufacture and so on of,for example, liquid-crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays,front emission displays, and color filters; liquid ejecting apparatusesthat eject bioorganic matters used in the manufacture of biochips;liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquids to be used as samples forprecision pipettes; printing equipment and microdispensers; and so on.Furthermore, the invention may be employed in liquid ejectingapparatuses that perform pinpoint ejection of lubrication oils into theprecision mechanisms of clocks, cameras, and the like; liquid ejectingapparatuses that eject transparent resin liquids such as ultravioletlight-curable resins onto a substrate in order to form miniaturehemispheric lenses (optical lenses) for use in optical communicationelements; and liquid ejecting apparatus that eject an etching liquidsuch as an acid or alkali onto a substrate or the like for etching. Theinvention can be applied to any type of these liquid ejectingapparatuses.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the target transport apparatus is notlimited to being provided in a recording apparatus that executes arecording process on a target, and may be a target transport apparatusprovided in various types of processing apparatuses that carry outvarious types of processes on targets.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-255860,filed Nov. 24, 2011 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A target transport apparatus comprising: atransport unit that includes a plurality of pinching portions disposedat intervals along a width direction that intersects with a transportdirection of a target, the transport unit imparting a transport force onthe target by the plurality of pinching portion pinching the target at aplurality of pinched areas; a transport amount detection unit, disposedin a location that is axially aligned with a pinched area of the targetin the width direction and downstream from the transport unit in thetransport direction; and a support member that supports the target tocontact with a surface of the target transported by the transport unit;wherein the transport amount detection unit is configured to capture animage of the surface of the target without making contact with thetarget and detect an amount by which the target is transported from thesurface of the target, the transport amount detection unit is formedonly on a side opposite to a side on which the plurality of pinchingportions are formed relative to the target, and the transport amountdetection unit is embedded in a hole formed in the support member. 2.The target transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetransport amount detection unit is disposed in a location thatcorresponds to the center of the pinched area in the width direction ofthe target and to the center of the pinched area along the transportdirection.
 3. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid ejectinghead that ejects a liquid onto a target; and the target transportapparatus according to claim
 1. 4. A liquid ejecting apparatuscomprising: a liquid ejecting head that ejects a liquid onto a target;and the target transport apparatus according to claim
 2. 5. The liquidejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the liquid ejectinghead is provided downstream from the transport unit in the transportdirection of the target, and ejects a liquid onto the target that ispinched by the transport unit.
 6. The liquid ejecting apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein the liquid ejecting head is provideddownstream from the transport unit in the transport direction of thetarget, and ejects a liquid onto the target that is pinched by thetransport unit.
 7. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5,further comprising: a heating unit that heats and fixes the liquidejected onto the target from the liquid ejecting head.
 8. The liquidejecting apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a heatingunit that heats and fixes the liquid ejected onto the target from theliquid ejecting head.
 9. The target transport apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the transport unit includes a driver roller and a slaveroller, the slave roller forming the plurality of pinching portions. 10.The target transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetransport amount detection unit includes an imaging sensor configured togather an image of a detection area of the target, the detection areabeing axially aligned with the pinched area of the target in thetransport direction.
 11. The target apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the imaging sensor is positioned at a substantially constantdistance away from the detection area of the target as the target movesin the transport direction.
 12. The target transport apparatus accordingto claim 1, further comprising a hole formed in the support member andhaving light-transmissive glass disposed therein that does not makecontact with the target.
 13. The target transport apparatus according toclaim 12, wherein the transport amount detection unit includes animaging sensor configured to gather an image of a detection area of thetarget, the detection area being axially aligned with the pinched areaof the target in the transport direction.